How much do you spend on gas?

Well, it would help to know how big the gas tank is on your current car, but putting all of that aside, probably the best way to judge it is to know the mileage you get from a gallon in your current car and compare that to the mileage you might expect on the same journey from a Prius. As I live in the UK and I don't know where you live I'm unlikely to be able to help much here, but I do know that; -

(a) the UK gallon is equal to about 1.2 US gallons, and I also know that

(b) the average mpg I get in my Prius from a UK gallon is about 52, so a US citizen would get about 52/1.2 = 43mpg. I also know that

(c) the Prius tank holds 11.9 US gallons, so the math suggests a US citizen will get 11.9 x 43 = 512 (approx) miles per tankful.

(d) If you do 200 miles a week - regardless of where you live - you will be filling up, on average, every 12 commuting days (2 weeks 3 days?).

Now for the "buts".

But it depends on how you drive. The Prius performs most economically at around 45 -55mph (from experience), so if you stick to these speeds you could increase the mpg by as much as 6 - 8 US mpg. If you have a heavy gas pedal foot you will probably reduce your 43 US mpg to something closer to

2. But it also depends on how cold if gets where you live. The Prius is a lot more economical (by about 5 US mpg) in Summer than Winter in UK conditions. If you live in a cold part of the World this could adversely affect your gas mileage.

There's loads of other factors that could affect gas mileage in the Prius, like tyre pressures, etc., but overall I would guess that you would cut your gas costs in half (or more) if you bought the Prius (and you would be doing your bit to save the planet).

Go get one!

Regards

Chas (two and a half years a Prius owner and I still love it!)

How big is your gas tank? Is that commute mileage one way to work, or is it the round trip? When you say "5 or 6 days", are you including weekends or not?

For planning purposes, assume you'll go about 400 miles between fillups.

It depends upon how you approach commuting. I commute 10 miles with the earlier NHW11 and have gotten 52.3 MPG over 50,000 miles. This also includes my highway driving. But the range of mileage varies so it is hard to say how you will do.

So let's take the GreenHybrid.com database median or a 2004+ Prius: 47 MPG

11 gallons * 47 MPG -> 517 miles per tank (11 gallons is feasable) 517 miles / (2*40) -> 6.46 days, roughly a week of commuting

@$3.50/gal -> $38.50 per week

Now you can get better than 47 MPG and many folks do:

It really has to do with whether you are willing to learn what works with the Prius and then drive efficiently.

Now there is one other alternative and I hesitate to recommend it:

But you need to know all of your options. I understand that since the summer of 2007 they finally decided that tailgating trucks is not an approved technique. Because of that one change, I don't feel so bad about pointing you to them. The rest of their techniques are something you'll have to evaluate on your own.

BTW, given that your commute is 40 miles, I'd like to suggest you also look at the Camry hybrid. It doesn't get quite as good mileage but it is a comfortable ride. There is merit in having a little more room and comfort in a commute.

GOOD LUCK! Bob Wilson

Garp - I am augmenting Chas' fine post below with a bit of USA perspective (nice job here Chas). My responses imbedded within the text below. "Chas Gill" ...

I get 50-56 MPG on mine in NJ.

We find ourselves filling up at about 450 miles or so. We never get down to the end of the tank either.

I use what I call PriusFoot. While many say just go and drive it (which is not inaccurate at all, it is fun to drive), there is a foot feathering technique that is worth MPG. I can average about 4 MPG higher while using it, depending upon driving conditions. Once you get good at that it becomes a norm.

I found a trick in another forum that has actually increased my winter MPG in NJ here from about 47 to 55 MPG: blocking off the grill to keep the heat in the engine. Google for that sort of thing to find out more if you wish. It seems to have pretty much negated the effect of winter for me.

I keep my tires very hard, about 42 psi.

etc., but overall I would guess that you would cut your

Agreed

Tomes

• Here is the data on my '05:

58,058.2 total miles on 1,168.748 total gallons of gas.

That's 49.68 MPG. (I'm a spreadsheet freak!)

No problems -- I change the oil and rotate tires, etc. every 5,000 miles. I have made a dozen or so trips from San Francisco to Los Angeles -- one long trip from San Francisco to Breckenridge CO (including the high passes -- Monarch at 11,000 feet) five or six trips over Donner Summit -- 7,000 feet and Tioga Pass -- 10,000 feet in the Sierra.

I installed new tires (Michelin Harmony) at about 35,000 miles.

No problems.

Good luck!

earle

*

"Earle Jones" ...

So what do you think about the Harmony tires on a Prius? Tomes